Media Contact:
Helen Chernikoff
hchernikoff@hadassah.org
347-899-6673
NEW YORK, NY — Surgeons at Hadassah Medical Organization, a leading hospital system in Jerusalem, used a 3D printer to reconstruct the knee of a wounded soldier who can now look forward to a complete recovery despite the severity of his injury.
"The patient came to us with a very complex fracture in his right knee from the penetrating energy of the bullet that shattered the bones,” said Dr. Yoram Weil, director of the Orthopedic Trauma Unit. “He underwent major surgery to reconstruct the knee to restore maximum function."
Upon his arrival, the soldier, Silo Segev, 21, underwent emergency surgery by Dr. Alona Katzir and Dr. Omer Or, orthopedic trauma specialists who used metal pins, carbon rods and clamps to hold his knee together. With the help of a 3D printer from Israeli company Stratasys, the procedure generated images and information the doctors used to produce a model of the damaged knee that revealed the destruction of crucial pieces of bone. In a second operation, led by Weil, the team used bone from Segev’s pelvis to recreate the missing pieces.
The 3D model enabled the surgeons both to plan the most efficient operation possible – it took less than two hours – and to reconstruct the knee meticulously. Segev is already using his knee, and within a few months, the surgical team expects it to have healed fully. "I thought I might lose my leg, but it is already improving,” said Segev. “Luckily, I arrived here and was put into the hands of a highly professional medical team that understands bone restoration and reconstruction.”
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ABOUT THE HADASSAH MEDICAL ORGANIZATION:
For more than a century, the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), the Jerusalem-based hospital system founded and owned by Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has set the standard for excellence in medical treatment and research in Israel. The experience and ingenuity of Hadassah’s doctors and scientists have yielded ideas with vast potential in all areas of medicine, including therapeutics, diagnostic medical devices and digital health.